Vallejo mayor calls arson bid to intimidate

VALLEJO

Updated 11:52 pm, Monday, October 1, 2012

An arson described by police as a case of "potential domestic terrorism" wrecked the law office of Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis. It is the latest in what he says was a string of attacks against him.

An arson described by police as a case of "potential domestic terrorism" wrecked the law office of Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis. It is the latest in what he says was a string of attacks against him.

Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle

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Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis says the fire at his law office is probably connected to his position.

Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis says the fire at his law office is probably connected to his position.

Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle

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Vallejo police Lt. Jim O'Connell, left, lead investigator into a fire that blazed through Mayor Osby Davis' law office Saturday, inspects damaged material behind the building on Monday, Oct. 1, 2012, in Vallejo, Calif. less

Vallejo police Lt. Jim O'Connell, left, lead investigator into a fire that blazed through Mayor Osby Davis' law office Saturday, inspects damaged material behind the building on Monday, Oct. 1, 2012, in ... more

Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle

Vallejo mayor calls arson bid to intimidate

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The mayor of Vallejo said he won't be intimidated by an arsonist who torched his law office over the weekend, the latest in a string of attacks he says were designed to rattle the city's highest elected public official.

It's "an escalating attempt to intimidate me," Mayor Osby Davis said at City Hall on Monday. "They only strengthened my resolve to continue to do what is right and good for the city of Vallejo."

Davis acknowledged that police officers had taken heightened measures to protect him and his family after an early-morning blaze Saturday destroyed much of his Tuolumne Street law office, just across the street from the Solano Justice Building.

He added that he does not fear for his life, "but I am more conscious of my surroundings."

Fire investigators determined that the blaze was intentionally set and have alerted both the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Davis described the fire as a cowardly message, yet investigators and residents wanted to know who sent it, and why.

"What have we turned into?" asked Louis Brown Jr., 53, a lifelong resident who co-chairs the city's NAACPeducation commission. "I don't know what's going on in Vallejo right now. It's a horrible chain of events, and we've never seen anything like this in our city."

Series of shootings

The fire was set 10 days after Davis, 66, announced that he wanted the state attorney general to investigate his Police Department's latest officer-involved fatal shooting - the fifth since May.

The death of Mario Romero, 23, who was shot at 31 times while in front of his home Sept. 2, sparked street demonstrations and one protest that led to the early adjournment of a City Council meeting.

Outside the Justice Building, the fire was the main topic of discussion. Many residents speculated that there is a connection between the general discontent over the police shootings and Davis' role as mayor, a symbol of the city's power structure.

Resident Janine Brown, 40, who was walking across the street from Davis' burned-out office, said most people were angered by the shootings and had lost confidence in the system.

"If I could talk to Davis," she said, "I would send the same message."

Renee Mims, 46, of Vallejo said she was also frustrated by the recent shootings and the city's response to them, but that violence against the mayor was unnecessary.

"You can picket or petition, but you can't burn a building down," she said.

Davis, who has held the office since 2007, has overseen unpopular budget cuts and layoffs as the result of his city's high-profile bankruptcy, from which it emerged 11 months ago.

In 2009, Davis drew national attention when he told a New York Times columnist that gays could not enter heaven for the sins they committed. Reaction to the comments spawned Better Vallejo, a community group that opposed the mayor and promoted "the economic, cultural and spiritual health of our community."

On Monday, Davis spoke with reporters in the City Council meeting room and was flanked by Fire Chief Paige Meyer and police Lt. Jim O'Connell. He was careful not to speculate who may have set the fire, but said he and investigators believe the blaze was connected to his position as mayor.

Additional attacks

He also referenced broken windows and trash strewn at his home, work and law office, yet declined to elaborate on the other attacks against him. In May, his motorcycle was stolen from the Vallejo City Hall parking lot.

Meyer, who declined to say what caused the fire, said arson investigators concluded early on the blaze was set on purpose.

On Saturday, police Lt. Sid De Jesus said investigators were looking into the fire as a case of "potential domestic terrorism."

Though the FBI and BATF were notified, their role so far has only been advisory, O'Connell said. "They've offered assistance, and I suspect we'll be asking for that in the very near future," he said Monday.

Davis said the attack would not slow his work as a bureaucrat or an attorney.

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